@Article{PiresLealPeet:2017:RaChAf,
               author = "Pires, Aliny Patricia Flauzino and Leal, Juliana da Silva and 
                         Peeters, Edwin T. H. M.",
          affiliation = "{Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE)} and 
                         {Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ)} and {Wageningen 
                         University}",
                title = "Rainfall changes affect the algae dominance in tank bromeliad 
                         ecosystems",
              journal = "PLoS One",
                 year = "2017",
               volume = "12",
               number = "4",
                pages = "e0175436",
                month = "Apr.",
             keywords = "chlorophyll a, rain.",
             abstract = "Climate change and biodiversity loss have been reported as major 
                         disturbances in the biosphere which can trigger changes in the 
                         structure and functioning of natural ecosystems. Nonetheless, 
                         empirical studies demonstrating how both factors interact to 
                         affect shifts in aquatic ecosystems are still unexplored. Here, we 
                         experimentally test how changes in rainfall distribution and 
                         litter diversity affect the occurrence of the algae-dominated 
                         condition in tank bromeliad ecosystems. Tank bromeliads are 
                         miniature aquatic ecosystems shaped by the rainwater and 
                         allochthonous detritus accumulated in the bases of their leaves. 
                         Here, we demonstrated that changes in the rainfall distribution 
                         were able to reduce the chlorophyll-a concentration in the water 
                         of bromeliad tanks affecting significantly the occurrence of 
                         algaedominated conditions. On the other hand, litter diversity did 
                         not affect the algae dominance irrespective to the rainfall 
                         scenario. We suggest that rainfall changes may compromise 
                         important self-reinforcing mechanisms responsible for maintaining 
                         high levels of algae on tank bromeliads ecosystems. We summarized 
                         these results into a theoretical model which suggests that tank 
                         bromeliads may show two different regimes, determined by the 
                         bromeliad ability in taking up nutrients from the water and by the 
                         total amount of light entering the tank. We concluded that 
                         predicted climate changes might promote regime shifts in tropical 
                         aquatic ecosystems by shaping their structure and the relative 
                         importance of other regulating factors.",
                  doi = "10.1371/journal.pone.0175436",
                  url = "http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0175436",
                 issn = "1932-6203",
             language = "en",
           targetfile = "pires_rainfall.pdf",
        urlaccessdate = "27 abr. 2024"
}